Members of the Chestermere Council gathered behind the Merganser Drive strip mall to commemorate the opening of the new skateboard park with a ribbon cutting. As Mayor Matthews cut the ribbon there was still a large number of kids whizzing around the park and quite a few of them even posed for a picture.
Parking spaces will be laid near the skateboard park and gas station as well as a paved pathway leading from the cars to the park. At the moment the immediate area around the skateboard park is dirt and long prairie grass, this will eventually be replaced with grass and strategically placed trees, sprucing things up so to say.
There are pros and cons to this new skateboard park being built so close to Chestermere Boulevard. One of the pros is that the park will be in full sight of anyone driving by, so if there are kids not wearing helmets, are decorating the park with unwanted graffiti, or engaged in risky behavior the town can be notified and action can be taken. One of the cons is that there have been correlations between pollution and lung disease. Is this something worth looking into; for the safety of the children? To learn more you can go to this website – http://www.aircare.ca/newspubs-wn-news-archives.php?newsid=16
Despite this being the grand opening kids of all ages on roller blades, skateboards, bikes, and scooters have been enjoying this newly built recreation site. Thankfully the majority of the kids have been wearing helmets but there will come a time when someone slips and bangs their head against the pavement or one of the ramps. To promote awareness, some of the LakeMed Clinic staff are planning a trek down to the park and distribute pamphlets on the signs of concussions. It’s better to be prepared but if you’re not going to wear a helmet and risk your mental health and well-being you might as well be aware of the signs and how tremendously awful you will feel if you do get a concussion.
This skateboard park is considered a fantastic addition to the recreational parks already been built in Chestermere. The youth of Chestermere now have more to choose from; they could spend the day at the bike park, paddle out on the lake, and now they can enjoy the exhilaration that comes with cruising along the smooth surface of a skateboard park.
